Keynote Address & Awards

Monday, 31 July
1:15 - 3:15 pm
Hall C

From Myth to Mountain: Insights Into Virtual PlacemakingJoe Rohde

Joe Rohde is an Executive Designer and Vice President with Walt Disney Imagineering. He is currently in charge of design and development for Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Joe has led conceptualization, design, and production for Disney's Animal Kingdom since its inception in 1990.

An avid adventurer, Joe has traveled in Indonesia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Kenya, Tanzania, and elsewhere, both on his own and in the process of designing Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Most recently, Joe has led the development and production of Expedition Everest, the new thrill attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This project took him and other Imagineers to the far corners of the Himalayas, researching the background details to incorporate into the very authentic environment designed for Expedition Everest. As with many other projects at Disney's Animal Kingdom, a portion of the research focused on conservation. Joe accompanied the scientists who documented the biodiversity of these areas, while he explored oral traditions of the yeti that were integrated into the storytelling of the attraction.

Immediately before the keynote address, ACM SIGGRAPH presents three awards: